Improvement in dyeing hat-bodies



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED C. BRUSH, OF NORWALK, AND GEORGE C. WHITE, OF DANBURY,CONNECTICUT.

lMPROVEMENT IN DYEING HAT-BODIES, 84.0.

Specification forming part of Letters PatentNo. 58,591, dated October 9,1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALFRED O. BRUSH, of Norwalk, in the county ofFairfield and State of Connecticut, and GEORGE C. WHITE, of Danbury, inthe county of Fairfield and State ofConnecticut, have invented a newanduseful Improvement in the Process of Dyeing I-Iat- Bodies and otherFabrics; and that the following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionof our invention.

There ,are at present two well-known processes by which coloredhat-bodies may be produced. In one process the wool may be dyed beforeit is manufactured; in the other the hat-bodies themselves may be dyedafter they are sized by felting. The former process is objectionable inmany respects, and the lattcr process is the one usually pursued byhatmanufacturers. It, however, is attended with the objection that thematerial after sizing is of so firm and compact a character that the dyedoes not readily penetrate and permeate it. Our new process obviates theobjectionable features of both the old modes; and it consists in dyeingthe hat-bodies after the sizing by felting has been commenced and beforeit is completed. rendered sufiiciently consistent to withstand thedyeing by the preliminary partial felting, and, on the other hand, it ismore readily permeated by the dye than it is after the sizing iscompleted, and than wool is, because its texture is comparatively moreopen than that of a sized body and is more even than the loose woo].Besides, the completion of the sizing process appears to render thecoloring more uniform and to set it permanently in the material. Thegoods produced, also, are much softer than those dyed after sizing andhave a finer feeling.

Our invention is applicable to hat-bodies and other felt fabrics made ofwool or of fur and of mixtures of these with other materials.

In order that our invention may be fully understood,we will describe themode in which we have practiced it with success upon wool hat-bodies.Such hat-bodies may be formed and hardened (ready for sizing by felting)in the usual way practiced by hatters. We then place them in the usualway in what is called the poacher or shovermill, which is a By thisprocess the hat-body is I species of fulling-mill in which hat-bodiesare felted by the operation of swinging blocks. WVe subject them to theaction of this mill about fifteen minutes, after which we take them outand close them in the usual way; then we put them into the mill againand sub ject them to its action for about fifteen minutes more. Thispreliminary felting constitutes the first step in our process.

Next, we dye the hat-bodies at the dyekettle in the usual manner. Thisdyeing constitutes the second step in our process.

After the bodies have been dyed we put them in the usual manner into theordinary falling-mill, used for completing the sizing of hat-bodies, andpermit it to act upon them until the sizing is carried to the usualrequisite extent, as may be determined by examining them from time totime. In conducting this residual sizing or felting we treat thehatbodies with steam and a little hot water, so as to keep them hot andmoist; but we do not find it expedient to let them lie in water in thetrough of the fulling-mill. The best mode of applying the steam andwater with which we are acquainted is to apply a perforated pipe to thebottom of the trough of the mill and to admit the steam to thehat'bodies by means of this pipe. Within the steam-pipe we place asmaller pipe, by which hot water is admitted, so that the steam carriesthe hot water with it as it passes to the hat-bodies. The admission ofthe steam and hot water is regulated by stop-cocks on the pipes, andshould there be any surplus water it is permit-ted to drain from thetrough of the mill through an aperture formed therein for that purpose.This residual sizing constitutes the third step of our process. When itis completed the hatbodies will be both sized and colored or dyed.

The process thus described is not restricted to the employment of thepoacher-mill and fulling-mill as the felting instruments, nor to the useof the peculiar apparatus we have described for applying steam and hotwater, be cause other felting-machines may be used in place of thosereferred to, or the felting may even be effected by hand-labor, andbecause the steam and hot water may be applied by different means fromthose described.

for example, the hot water may be applied Thus,

from time to time, as required, to keep the hat-bodies moist by means ofa common water- 'ingpot, or by a rose-sprinkler placed above theposition of the bodies in the felting-machine.

It willbe seen from the foregoing that our new process occupies anintermediate position I other hand, we retain the advantages due to thedyeing in the hat-body without the disadvantage resulting from thecompactness and firmness of fabric caused by the completion of theoperation of sizing by felting. save the expense of one blocking andother labor of washing, sorting, &c., as well as much time in theprocess of manufacturing.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to'seoure by Letters Patent,is

The process of dyeing hat-bodies, substantially as hereinbefore setforth, by applying the dye or coloring-matter to them after the sizinghas been commenced and before it is completed.

In testimony whereof" we have hereto set our hands this 30th day ofAugust, 1866.

ALFRED G. BRUSH; GEO. 0. WHITE. Witnesses: I

RoGERAVERILL, HENRY T. HOYT.

We also I

